Bill Kristol: Kerry Shows 'We're Pulling Our Punches' on ISIS

Secretary of State John Kerry's declaration that the U.S. is not at war with the Islamic State (ISIS) shows the White House is holding back on an all-out assault on the bloodthirsty terror group, according to Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard.

Kristol is also unimpressed by Kerry's efforts to get allies around the world to help America in its efforts to crush ISIS, which has been slaughtering Christians throughout the Middle East and recently beheaded to U.S. journalists.

"Exactly what does he want to get these allies to do? If this is a threat to the U.S., we need to crush them. The president is not laying out a strategy to crush them," he said.

Kristol said the GOP has little choice but to follow the president's plan for increased airstrikes against ISIS.

"He is the president and it's better to do something than to do nothing. He may do more in the future. We need to urge him to do more," he said.

"At the end of the day, I don't know what choice we have. We've got deal with this terrorist group. We can't wait two years until we get a new president and let them rampage through the Middle East.

"[Polls show] the Republicans are hawkish, they have some differences in how to pursue hawkish policies, but the good news is the Republican Party, this November and two Novembers from that, will present the country with a rebuff, hawkish alternative to President Obama's weak foreign policy."

Secretary of State John Kerry's declaration that the U.S. is not at war with the Islamic State (ISIS) shows the White House is holding back on an all-out assault on the bloodthirsty terror group, according to Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard.